Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted referred for investigation and potential prosecution 17 individuals who voted in the 2012 General Election though they were not citizens of the United States. This investigation was possible due to the Secretary's work over the past three years to clean up Ohio's voter rolls and share government-held data, including information from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

While the state does not maintain a comprehensive database of all non-citizens in Ohio, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles does have some information by virtue of the fact that in order to obtain a driver's license, someone who is not a citizen, but residing in Ohio legally, must provide documentation to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) on a regular basis.

In addition to the 17 individuals referred to the Attorney General, the Secretary of State's office has information that more than 274 non-citizens are currently registered to vote in Ohio, though there is no evidence that they have voted. They will be asked to cancel their registrations to help ensure only eligible voters are on Ohio's voter rolls.